D League
Regular Season Round 74: Iowa E. - Los Angeles D. 79-95
Date: April 7, 2012
The Los Angeles D-Fenders broke the Iowa Energy’s record of excellence for an NBA Development League season. But did they also break their spirit? That question might be answered soon enough. The D-Fenders bullied the Energy throughout a 95-79 victory Saturday at Wells Fargo Arena, and get the chance to pick their playoff opponent today by virtue of a league-best 38-12 record. One enticing postseason possibility: the 25-25 Energy, who earned the eighth seed despite losing their final three games. “There’s other teams that they’ve fared better against than us,” Energy coach Kevin Young said after his team dropped its lone meeting of the season with the D-Fenders. “I don’t know what they’re going to base it on. Are they going to base it on, we’ve struggled in the second half of the season? Are they going to base it on tonight? Are they going to base it on matchups?” The D-Fenders could base their decision on all of the above, and still land on the Energy. On Saturday, they handled Iowa despite using only eight players, including just 9 minutes for leading scorer Brandon Costner. They shot 51 percent to the Energy’s 37, outrebounded them 51-39 and held them to 13 points in the fourth quarter. And they seemed to do it all with a wink and a swagger that the home fans had grown accustomed to seeing. Iowa set the D-League standard with back-to-back 37-13 seasons, including a championship last April. But this year’s team, which started out 18-7, faded to a 7-18 mark in the second half of the season. “In the first half of the season, we were moving the ball a lot better, playing more fluid,” Iowa center Ben Strong said. “And we did that in spurts in the second half of the season. We’re fully capable of doing that. “The biggest thing we have to do is play good defense and rebound. If you do that, you’re going to be in any game regardless of how you do on offense. Whoever picks us, we’re going to be completely confident in ourselves. We know who we have on our team, and we know we can play with anyone in this league.” Mike Efevberha, as usual, led Iowa with 20 points Saturday. But it was the late re-emergence of 3-point ace Moses Ehambe that may provide the biggest jolt of optimism for the Energy, who will host Game 1 of a best-of-three series at 7 p.m. Wednesday. Ehambe made 5-of-11 3-pointers and finished with 19 points. Point guard Brandon Ewing added 10 points and 10 assists. “I’m a no-excuse guy, we’re a no-excuse team, but it was our chemistry,” Ewing said of the second-half swoon. “We had a lot of transactions, guys coming in and out. At this level, it’s easy to play with great players, it’s hard to win with different pieces. “Everyone’s going to say this, it’s cliche. But everyone knows we’re the scariest team because Game 1 is going to be in Wells Fargo. So if we steal Game 1, the pressure’s on them. Everyone knows what we’re capable of doing.” Iowa went 16-8 in its building this season, and Young agreed that hosting the playoff opener could provide a significant boost. “The tradition here, the fans, the support, the passion of the fans is something that really carries our guys,” he said. “Sometimes the regular season can be long and it drags on the guys. But we’ll have a new sense of spirit come playoff time and fed by the fans here in the arena.” *Courtesy of www.desmoinesregister.com
Terms:
Field Goals : 2PM-A (2 point Field Goal made-attempts) 3PM-A (3 point Field Goal made-attempts) FTM-A (free throws made-attempt)
Rebounds : OFF (Offensive) DEF (Defensive) TOT (total)
Fouls : CM (Committed) RV (received)
Blocks : FV (In Favor) AG (Against)
Other terms : MIN (minutes) AST (assists) ST (steals) TO (Turnovers) PTS (points) RNK (ranking)
Regular Season Round 74: Iowa E. - Los Angeles D. 79-95
Date: April 7, 2012
The Los Angeles D-Fenders broke the Iowa Energy’s record of excellence for an NBA Development League season. But did they also break their spirit? That question might be answered soon enough. The D-Fenders bullied the Energy throughout a 95-79 victory Saturday at Wells Fargo Arena, and get the chance to pick their playoff opponent today by virtue of a league-best 38-12 record. One enticing postseason possibility: the 25-25 Energy, who earned the eighth seed despite losing their final three games. “There’s other teams that they’ve fared better against than us,” Energy coach Kevin Young said after his team dropped its lone meeting of the season with the D-Fenders. “I don’t know what they’re going to base it on. Are they going to base it on, we’ve struggled in the second half of the season? Are they going to base it on tonight? Are they going to base it on matchups?” The D-Fenders could base their decision on all of the above, and still land on the Energy. On Saturday, they handled Iowa despite using only eight players, including just 9 minutes for leading scorer Brandon Costner. They shot 51 percent to the Energy’s 37, outrebounded them 51-39 and held them to 13 points in the fourth quarter. And they seemed to do it all with a wink and a swagger that the home fans had grown accustomed to seeing. Iowa set the D-League standard with back-to-back 37-13 seasons, including a championship last April. But this year’s team, which started out 18-7, faded to a 7-18 mark in the second half of the season. “In the first half of the season, we were moving the ball a lot better, playing more fluid,” Iowa center Ben Strong said. “And we did that in spurts in the second half of the season. We’re fully capable of doing that. “The biggest thing we have to do is play good defense and rebound. If you do that, you’re going to be in any game regardless of how you do on offense. Whoever picks us, we’re going to be completely confident in ourselves. We know who we have on our team, and we know we can play with anyone in this league.” Mike Efevberha, as usual, led Iowa with 20 points Saturday. But it was the late re-emergence of 3-point ace Moses Ehambe that may provide the biggest jolt of optimism for the Energy, who will host Game 1 of a best-of-three series at 7 p.m. Wednesday. Ehambe made 5-of-11 3-pointers and finished with 19 points. Point guard Brandon Ewing added 10 points and 10 assists. “I’m a no-excuse guy, we’re a no-excuse team, but it was our chemistry,” Ewing said of the second-half swoon. “We had a lot of transactions, guys coming in and out. At this level, it’s easy to play with great players, it’s hard to win with different pieces. “Everyone’s going to say this, it’s cliche. But everyone knows we’re the scariest team because Game 1 is going to be in Wells Fargo. So if we steal Game 1, the pressure’s on them. Everyone knows what we’re capable of doing.” Iowa went 16-8 in its building this season, and Young agreed that hosting the playoff opener could provide a significant boost. “The tradition here, the fans, the support, the passion of the fans is something that really carries our guys,” he said. “Sometimes the regular season can be long and it drags on the guys. But we’ll have a new sense of spirit come playoff time and fed by the fans here in the arena.” *Courtesy of www.desmoinesregister.com
 IOWA E. (coach: Mahmoud Abdelfattah)79 |
| FIELD GOALS | REBOUNDS | FOULS | BLOCKS | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| # | NAME | MIN | 2PM-A | 3PM-A | FTM-A | OFF | DEF | RB | AS | F | RV | ST | FV | AG | TO | PT | RNK | +/- |
| 3 | qTajD, mQijdIj | 47 | 0-68 (36.9%) | 5-6 (5%) | 5-5 (5%) | 5 | 9 | 9 | 65 | 6 | 5 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 65 | 62 | 5 |
| 38 | gQRLI, SjdQRT | 43 | 6-9 (63.4%) | 5-6 (5%) | 5-5 (5%) | 4 | 1 | 7 | 8 | 6 | 5 | 6 | 4 | 5 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 5 |
| qfRLMRQhi, baZhiRl | 46 | 9-61 (34.2%) | 5-6 (5%) | 1-1 (655%) | 6 | 8 | 4 | 8 | 8 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 85 | 63 | 5 | |
| 69 | bIsRs eijdill, qhiBMR | 81 | 8-0 (35%) | 0-66 (30.0%) | 5-5 (5%) | 6 | 6 | 8 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 67 | 9 | 5 |
| 48 | AUQIjD, mRj | 88 | 3-1 (11.9%) | 5-5 (5%) | 6-6 (655%) | 5 | 9 | 9 | 5 | 0 | 5 | 8 | 8 | 5 | 4 | 7 | 65 | 5 |
| HiQQas, Oiul | 84 | 8-9 (82.1%) | 5-5 (5%) | 6-6 (655%) | 5 | 4 | 4 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 8 | 0 | 8 | 5 | |
| 88 | buQphF, XaZV | 86 | 4-0 (15%) | 5-5 (5%) | 4-0 (15%) | 6 | 8 | 4 | 5 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 |
| whIBis, gIuDlis | 86 | 8-1 (44.4%) | 5-5 (5%) | 6-1 (61.9%) | 6 | 8 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 5 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 0 | -8 | 5 | |
| zIhjsIj, eiLRQj | 65 | 5-8 (5%) | 5-5 (5%) | 5-5 (5%) | 6 | 5 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 8 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 5 | |
| HiBalUIj, kRQjIj | 2 | 5-4 (5%) | 5-5 (5%) | 5-5 (5%) | 5 | 6 | 6 | 8 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 5 | -6 | 5 | |
| wIUil | 81-17 (49.9%) | 0-63 (40.9%) | 68-67 (14.8%) | 2 | 46 | 47 | 69 | 62 | 5 | 68 | 0 | 5 | 63 | 97 | 09 | |||
 LOS ANGELES D. (coach: Zach Guthrie)95 |
| FIELD GOALS | REBOUNDS | FOULS | BLOCKS | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| # | NAME | MIN | 2PM-A | 3PM-A | FTM-A | OFF | DEF | RB | AS | F | RV | ST | FV | AG | TO | PT | RNK | +/- |
| bIIj, ziBiQaI | 33 | 1-66 (03.0%) | 8-3 (05%) | 8-8 (655%) | 6 | 9 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 85 | 84 | 5 | |
| 62 | ballsip, qlanih | 42 | 0-64 (42.0%) | 5-6 (5%) | 4-3 (90%) | 6 | 60 | 61 | 5 | 3 | 5 | 8 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 64 | 7 | 5 |
| GRIQDR, PUas | 41 | 3-9 (09.6%) | 5-5 (5%) | 5-5 (5%) | 6 | 1 | 9 | 6 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 2 | 65 | 5 | |
| GQRRjR, PQaRj | 89 | 4-1 (05%) | 5-8 (5%) | 6-4 (44.4%) | 6 | 8 | 4 | 9 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 5 | |
| SjdQRTs, ciZhiQF | 62 | 6-6 (655%) | 5-5 (5%) | 5-5 (5%) | 6 | 6 | 8 | 5 | 6 | 5 | 6 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 8 | 8 | 5 | |
| CIllajs, biQdF | 41 | 66-62 (16.6%) | 5-6 (5%) | 6-3 (80%) | 8 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 8 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 84 | 60 | 5 | |
| ojDQiB, SjdQR | 82 | 6-4 (44.4%) | 3-0 (25%) | 5-6 (5%) | 5 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 63 | 64 | 5 | |
| CIsUjRQ, mQijdIj | 7 | 8-4 (11.9%) | 6-4 (44.4%) | 6-8 (05%) | 5 | 3 | 3 | 5 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 2 | 1 | 5 | |
| eush, KiQRRB | gXO - CIiZh's gRZasaIj | |||||||||||||||||
| qFRjDi, ChQasUaij | gXO - CIiZh's gRZasaIj | |||||||||||||||||
| 63 | ylITRQs, GiQF | gXO - CIiZh's gRZasaIj | ||||||||||||||||
| wIUil | 44-18 (04.8%) | 9-61 (34.2%) | 2-61 (05.5%) | 9 | 33 | 06 | 69 | 67 | 5 | 9 | 3 | 5 | 67 | 70 | 20 | |||
Terms:
Field Goals : 2PM-A (2 point Field Goal made-attempts) 3PM-A (3 point Field Goal made-attempts) FTM-A (free throws made-attempt)
Rebounds : OFF (Offensive) DEF (Defensive) TOT (total)
Fouls : CM (Committed) RV (received)
Blocks : FV (In Favor) AG (Against)
Other terms : MIN (minutes) AST (assists) ST (steals) TO (Turnovers) PTS (points) RNK (ranking)
